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philthepill.online · @philthepill.online@bridge.neodb.net

Rated The Silence of the Lambs 9/10

Finally got around to this blind spot. The craft at work is undeniable, right? Each scene works to deepen the stakes and further immerse Clarice in a world of fear. The Silence of the Lambs is also clearly of its time in the movements of the camera and the incorporation of a melodramatic film score that nonetheless work in the way a classic film of the 40's or 50's still works. What is also undeniable is the profoundly problematic approach to themes of queerness within criminality. It is not the filmmakers' fault that this adaptation of a pre-existing work went on to become memetic for decades after its peak of cultural relevance. But it's also a lesson in why it can be reckless to flatten characters without having other voices in the room. I'm not advocating for changing Jame Gumb's motives. But I do think the load bearing pieces of dialogue where Clarice tries to say "transsexuals are passive" has failed to prevent context collapse with this character. And there's something both fascinating and disturbing in seeing Gumb celebrate their body in that "Goodbye Horses" scene and knowing it's also effective as a scare tactic for Boomers. My parents' generation saw this movie and decades later they still easily fall for propaganda depicting transgender women as predators. You shouldn't blame Silence of the Lambs for that. This would have happened regardless. But Silence of the Lambs does exist as something we have to grapple with in deprogramming older people's perceptions of the trans community. In a film with so much to say about how implicit bias impedes justice, it's a significant irony that it contributed so much to the cultural hive mind about people with dysphoria.

#movie

Published 2025-11-06 00:00 UTC · bridged from Atmosphere